[Check up on pacemaker patients. Experiences with long intervals between check ups].

The effect of pacemaker follow-up during the second to fifth year post implantation has been studied. 230 selected patients with single chamber pacemakers (SSI) were followed up at intervals of 2-4 years and were observed prospectively. 110 dual chamber (DDD) and 121 rate-responsive single chamber pacemakers (SSIR) were evaluated retrospectively.

Pacemaker follow-up with prolonged intervals in the stable period 1 to 5 years postimplant.

This pilot study focuses on pacemaker follow-up in the technically stable period 1-5 years after a pacemaker implantation. Two hundred and thirty selected patients with single chamber pacemakers (215 VVI, 15 AAI) had their follow-up intervals prolonged to 2-4 years in this period. Sixty-six patients fulfilled the study period uneventfully and 21 are still pending.

[Reuse of implanted pacemakers].

Unlabelled: One specific institution reports 310 cases of reuse of pacemakers from 1974 to 1993. 111 were obtained after replacement, and 199 after the death of the first user. The average duration of the primary implant was 12 months (0-53 months).

[The practical benefits of ambulatory continuous ECG recording].

The diagnostic yield from ambulatory continuous ECG recording (Holter ECG) has been evaluated retrospectively in 200 consecutive patients referred from an urban population of 250,000 for arrhythmia diagnosis or evaluation. About half of the patients were in hospital, the other half were ambulatory. In 20/200 (10%) the examination was obviously useful: indication for therapy was documented or arrhythmia and symptoms did not coincide.

Changes in coronary haemodynamics and myocardial metabolism at rest and during exercise after a cardiotonic drug (prenalterol) in patients with coronary artery disease.

To elucidate the myocardial metabolic and haemodynamic effects of an inotropic drug in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) without evident congestive heart failure (CHF), the acute effects of prenalterol were studied in nine patients. Patients with documented CAD by leftsided cardioangiography and end-diastolic pressure greater than 15 mm Hg were included in the study. They were examined at rest and during supine exercise at a level just below their anginal threshold before and after prenalterol.

Haemodynamics during repeated exercise tests with special reference to the 'warm-up' phenomenon in patients with angina pectoris.

The haemodynamic effect of two successive supine exercise tests 20 min apart was examined in 12 patients with angina pectoris. All the patients had coronary artery disease verified by angiography and were accepted for coronary bypass surgery. They exercised 20-40 W and all of them had angina during the first exercise test.

Ambulatory 24 hour ECG in patients with a history of syncope. A retrospective follow-up study over 2 years.

174 patients referred to a general hospital for unexplained syncope were examined by ambulatory 24 hour ECG (AECG) and a follow-up by questionnaire after 2 years. The AECG demonstrated sinus rhythm in 113 patients, atrial fibrillation in 15 (in 2 of these there were occasional RR intervals of more than 3 seconds), atrioventricular (AV) block in 10, sinoatrial (SA) block in 14, tachycardia or frequent ventricular extrasystoles (VES) in 21, and no recording (technical failure) in one. Ten patients got a permanent pacemaker due to these findings, and 7 were given antiarrhythmic drug therapy.

Venous thrombosis following diagnostic transvenous catheterization by percutaneous catheter insertion: an evaluation of desmopressin as a thromboprophylactic agent.

The preventive effect of desmopressin with respect to catheter induced thrombosis was studied in a randomized double-blind trial, consisting of 30 patients undergoing percutaneous transcubital right heart catheterization. Phlebography of the catheterized arm was performed after five days. The frequency of post-catheterization thrombosis was reduced by 33 per cent, from 86 per cent in the treatment group to 53 per cent in the control group (0.

Pyrogens from surgeons' sterile latex gloves.

Pyrogens have been detected in water extracts from surgeons' sterile latex gloves, using both the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test and the rabbit test. After the gloves were rinsed with pyrogen-free water, the amount of pyrogens in extracts was markedly reduced. Pyrogens could also be detected in extracts from an angiographic catheter after it had been handled with latex gloves, whereas an unused catheter was free from pyrogens.

Doppler ultrasound in mitral stenosis. Assessment of pressure gradient and atrioventricular pressure half-time.

In 16 patients with mitral stenosis (MS), alone or in combination with either mitral insufficiency (2 pats.) or aortic valve disease (3 pats.), the mean diastolic pressure gradients across the mitral valve calculated by Doppler ultrasound were significantly correlated to the catheterization data.

Escape rhythm in complete A-V block. The recovery phase after overdrive suppression from artificial ventricular suppression from artificial ventricular pacing.

In 60 patients with third degree A-V block, recovery of escape rhythm from overdrive suppression after ventricular pacing has been studied. Implanted unipolar VVI pacemakers were inhibited by chest wall stimuli. A total of 165 rhythmograms were studied.

Influence of high plasma concentrations of free-fatty acids on heart rhythm in healthy fasting men.

Ten healthy male student in regular sinus rhythm fasted for 66 hours. Their overnight fasting plasma concentration of free fatty acids (FFA) was 455 +/- 104 micro mol/1 (mean +/- S.E.

Overdrive suppression of implanted pacemakers in patients with AV block.

Patients being permanently paced for symptomatic AV block were studied by overdrive suppression of the QRS-inhibited pacemaker, in order to observe the underlying heart rhythm. The chest wall stimulation method was used. In complete AV block the escape rhythm recovery time proved highly reproducible on repeated testing on the same day, and in many patients remained so over months or years.

Diazepam in acute myocardial infarction. Clinical effects and effects on catecholamines, free fatty acids, and cortisol.

Diazepam is a valuable drug in cases of acute myocardial infarction. The 10 mg intravenous loading dose and the subsequent 15 mg oral dose of diazepam administered three times daily produced safe, pleasant sedation, and reduced the need for analgesics. A much reduced excretion of catecholamines was recorded.

Routine pacemaker control, and selective replacement of pulse generators. A cost/benefit analysis.

Two hundred and fifty patients with permanent pacemaker have been followed up with routine pacemaker controls in a pacemaker clinic for a 21 months period 1/3-73 to 1/1-75. Ninety-five pulsegenerators were replaced. Sixty-two of the replacements were due to impending battery exhaustion, nine elective and 24 for other reasons.

Pacemaker wires and electrodes. A follow-up study.

In 362 patients on permanent pacing, a follow up with regard to pacemaker electrode function time and connection to pulse-generators has been carried out. In 12 patients Elema epicardial electrode were used with an average function time of 3.8 years.